
**A fictional mystery – Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8
Not every snake that crawls out of the grass is looking for sunlight.
One and a half hours after Marlee’s escape, a silver-grey Ducati pulled into the Visitor parking lot at New Scotland Yard. The bike had another vehicle in tow.
Acting Chief Adonis Zodek and his Assistant, Detective Inspector Halifax Granger anxiously awaited Agent Eveningstar, her brother Agent Jazer and Walter, Marlee’s nephew, at New Scotland Yard’s building entrance near the Visitor parking lot. The purpose—an urgent meeting called by Agent Wendy Eveningstar.
Shortly thereafter, the secretive group of five individuals proceeded downstairs to New Scotland Yard’s high-tech basement boardroom. No sooner had the group of five taken their seats, one individual spoke:
“Well this is a bloody mess, isn’t it?”
“How did she get a copy of that report?”
“Are you sure she has it?”
“Yes, hopefully, she did not notice the tracker on the envelope. As soon as it was opened… we knew her location.”
“What happened with your surveillance Walter? You—lost her! I thought you claimed to be the best. You said, and let me quote you here. You said, ‘I know all her moves.'”
“Don’t mention my name in case someone is listening, please! I was tailing her when someone in a blue Porsche intercepted. He put himself between me and her. I could not get around him. So, unfortunately, I had to break off pursuit.”
“And you Chief,” said Agent Wendy Eveningstar, glaring at Acting Chief Adonis Zodek, “Why did you spook her? All you had to do was to lure her here and keep her here, until tomorrow. By then it will be too late for her to do anything!”
“Don’t go blaming me. You had her in the parking lot at Lloyds and let her go. Why didn’t you and your brother, and you (pointing to Marlee’s nephew Walter) all seize the opportunity to misdirect her efforts? Enough of this, I want out!”
“It is too late for that Chief. You’ve crawled into the pit with us.
****
Four hours later and well-rested, Marlee dialed the phone in the bedroom at her Aunt Marj’s private suite at an undisclosed location in East London’s exclusive Canary Wharf District.
“Thanks, Auntie for letting me stay for a while at your hideaway. I need to sort this mystery out unobstructed.”
“Take all the time you need, my dear girl. I have arranged for someone to watch out for you. I have trusted him with my life in the past. His name, Major Davon “Phoenix” Smithers. I believe you already “met” him…sort of. He will ring you to arrange a meet when he believes it is safe.”
“Good luck little Marlee. Get to the bottom of this sordid business. I hope you won’t think any less of me by what you find.”
“I will do my best Auntie. Safe travels; and, enjoy your time in The Hamptons. Love you.”
****
Major Davon Smithers, aka “Phoenix” hustled to his blue Porsche 911 and followed Marlee in her hasty retreat from New Scotland Yard’s visitor parking lot.
He parked, made himself comfortable, and settled in his seat. He kept a close eye on the highrise building in Canary Wharf where his patron Duchess Marjorum Neville Plantagenet d’ Rothchild, owned a private suite. She had asked him to keep her niece, Marlee safe.
A burly figure with a seemingly painted-on expressionless visage, Phoenix, a former Navy Seal, owed The Duchess a great debt. He was more than pleased, therefore, to agree to her request when she called him yesterday morning about her niece, Marlee.
Several hours passed uneventfully. Then he dialed Marlee’s number on his encrypted phone. It was now four p.m.
“Hello, Marlee, you don’t know me but your aunt, The Duchess asked me to provide you with backup. She brought me up to speed on events thus far. Can we meet for coffee? —Starbucks downstairs in the main lobby, in one hour?
“Yes, my aunt informed me that you would call. Okay, I will be there.”
“I suspect that you are being electronically tracked somehow. Do your own sweep of your belongings, locate and dispose of any tracing devices (bugs), as soon as possible. The people behind this—You cannot trust them. They are a pit of vipers, M’lady.”
“Okay will do. See you in an hour.”
Marlee quickly ended the call. She took her Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures (TSCM) Professional bug detector unit from her surveillance bag. With it, she scanned carefully her few possessions.
Soon thereafter, she found the tracker placed on the metal clip of the envelope—the envelope with the Top Secret Police report summary, secretly slipped into her pocket hours earlier outside MacDonalds.
She took a photo of the censored police report and emailed it to herself. Then shredded the hard copy and flushed its remains down the toilet.
Then, she placed the empty envelope with the tracker in her handbag and, made her way to the building’s main lobby via the private elevator in her aunt Marj’s suite.
From there, she walked to the tube (underground train) at Waterloo station. She weaved her way among the crowd of afternoon commuters and temporarily boarded the train to Charing Cross.
She then left the envelope under one of the seats, exiting the train before it departed Waterloo Station.
Checking often to ensure that she was not followed, Marlee then made her way on foot to the Starbucks in the lobby of the building where she had sought sanctuary.
***To be continued next Sunday***
Suzette, how do you find the time to do this? It’s not just the amount you put out – it’s also the quality! I love this.
-David
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello David,
I made a commitment to myself to carve out either Mondays or Tuesdays for short story writing. With that said, I write two or three parts of the story at a time. That way when I take a writing break (which I do often take😊), I am ahead a bit.
Poems are written sometimes weeks in advance; therefore, I don’t feel overwhelmed by the otherwise busy march of daily life.
So happy you are enjoying the story, David. It is my pleasure to write.
Peace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, the excitement builds! Great read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to hear that you are enjoying the read, Goff. It is my pleasure. Have a wonderful Sunday. Happy Boxing Day. Blessings to you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheers. Have a great day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Goff. It is minus some extreme number temperature-wise here. I am keeping suitable warm. Cheers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has rained here continuously for the last four days. The sun has just come out and brightened Boxing Day up. The weather, for this time of the year, is very mild here.☀️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoy the lovely day! The Sunshine after rain is magical. Cheers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seeing the sun certainly brightens up the day and spirit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, absolutely. The Sun and the soul are kin.
LikeLiked by 1 person
☀️🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Things are getting serious here. Great addition Suzette
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes, the plot thickens 😊 Thank you for your wonderful support, Sadje.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, entirely
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
(hearts)
LikeLiked by 1 person
💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
Go, Marlee!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! The plot thickens…😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m looking forward to the next instalment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So pleased you are enjoying the story. Thank you for reading.
More to come…
LikeLiked by 1 person
●Not every snake that crawls out of the grass is looking for sunlight.●
Oh i didn’t know that. Being cold-blooded they always looking for warmth
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, but they might also be looking for…dinner.
LikeLike
Oh yes that’s true. Snakes also get hungry. They don’t lay all day long between the warm grass
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right you are…
LikeLike
👍…yep
LikeLiked by 1 person
■“Yes, hopefully, she did not notice the tracker on the envelope. As soon as it was opened… we knew her location.”■
Geewizz a tracker on the envelope. That must be some special kind of paper
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, cool spy trinkets indeed😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol…trinkets is a nice word
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
●“Don’t go blaming me. You had her in the parking lot at Lloyds and let her go. Why didn’t you and your brother, and you (pointing to Marlee’s nephew Walter) all seize the opportunity to misdirect her efforts? Enough of this, I want out!”●
Lol, all these internal fighting, see how the blame game begins. Reminds me of political foes in one party, each spinning their own yarn
■Major Davon Smithers, aka “Phoenix” hustled to his blue Porsche 911 and followed Marlee in her hasty retreat from New Scotland Yard’s visitor parking lot■
Aha…that’s him. Aunt’s confidante…things are heating up
■“I suspect that you are being electronically tracked somehow. Do your own sweep of your belongings, locate and dispose of any tracing devices (bugs), as soon as possible. The people behind this—You cannot trust them. They are a pit of vipers, M’lady.”■
Ooohh good boy….mhmmm navy seal and all at your service and protect M’Lady….ooo😊…what does this mean…the phoenix is a gentleman
■metal clip■
Aha so no special kind of paper
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the blame game…always lots to go around…that spinning wheel.
LikeLike
Absolutely….it’s fascinating how spy stories play themselves out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, twists and turns galore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love all your wonderful points of discernment. You captured so beautifully the spirit of the mystery. Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to read your comments😊
LikeLike
Thank-you, i really love what you just said
You know i enjoy reading your stories 😊, then adding my pennies here and there.
It’s a pleasure
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome…enjoy the rest of your holiday🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
■She took a photo of the censored police report and emailed it to herself. Then shredded the hard copy and flushed its remains down the toilet.■
Oh good girl, knows all the tricks of the trade, now she just has to look after that phone.
●She then left the envelope under one of the seats, exiting the train before it departed Waterloo Station.●
Yass…decoy!!!!…off to waterloo Eveningstar shall go
Sanctuary, what a note you leave us with…the lull before the storm!!
Can’t wait for it to break!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Marlee knows her craft well.
Thank you for noticing the “sanctuary” before the storm. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes…you are welcome
It’s going to be interesting
We don’t know how the storm’s pendulum will swing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly…😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol…that just added even more to the suspense
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, indeed🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gespannt …
Excited for the next episode. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!!…good morning Suzette🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good morning😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have a wonderful morning 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Blessings on your day/evening.🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you dear, we are still out in the Midlands,…getting chilly now, the wind is coming up so we should be on our way in the next few minutes.
Blessed day to you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ohoo, chilly. Stay warm as much as possible.😊
It is a frosty -32C here…😊😊😊
LikeLike
We at south beach now surprisingly in it is quite warm here.
Oooooo….you having a completely opposite weather experience to mine. I’m watching the waves come in. A different kind of coziness….enjoy🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, a different kind of coziness….yet, cozy all the same. Amazing how the body can call to mind coziness in different way. A miracle.
LikeLike
Yes, no matter the weather mood, each pattern a special kind of coziness…wonder too
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, certainly 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂🙂, weather is everything, so are the seasons
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, very true!
LikeLike
Good morning Suzette
It’s a here come the sun kind of day.
Although the sky is grey, it’s the wind that is setting the mood for the day.
Wishing you sweet rest
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wishing you a beautiful sun-blessed day. Cheers.
LikeLike
Thank you, the sun is weak, but overall the weather is warmand nice to be outside.
Wishing you a warm and cosy day. Cheers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Than you. Blessings and peace to you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Marlee is so clever 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing this ..love this .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed it😊
LikeLike
I’m enjoying this series. Love the train trick!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the story Rebecca. My pleasure😊
LikeLiked by 1 person